St. Petersburg, Russia

Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 3

Legislation: Cannabis is completely illegal in Russia, although it is formally not a crime (only administrative violation of the law) to have less than 6 grams on your person. Anyway, it will cause LOTS of problems if you get caught, so make sure you keep a super low profile, and certainly do not go around asking random people about it, because most chances is you will end up getting into trouble. Russia is not Amsterdam.

As put by another report on Russia as a whole: “Possessing weed under 6 grams is decriminalized, with low fines, up to 30 is a heavier fine (and possible community work), but still no imprisonment.

Law Enforcement: Russian police are fortunately quite corrupt and most police officers are known to take bribes, but be prepared to pay a lot for getting caught with cannabis, usually 300-500 U.S. dollars. The Police can stop and search you or demand a drug test for any reason, so walking around with dreadlocks and a Bob Marley shirt is a fast way to having to pay a stiff bribe. Citizens in Russia usually have far too many problems on their plates to really care about you smoking, so as long as you aren’t being a huge nuisance no one will call the police on you just for smoking up. In general be inconspicuous and try to blend in and you won’t have problems.

Where to Buy Marijuana in St. Petersburg: As true cannabis connoisseurs we know how hard it is to keep our high standards when travelling. The problem in St. Petersburg and in Russia in general is that if you happen to suffer from Glaucoma or have severe back pain there is nothing around that can really sooth the pain. But you will be surprised as to what kind of quality you will be able to find once the iron curtain is unveiled from your eyes, our latest reports indicate there is a hope for all stoners coming to Russia, and that is a service called “Heady Tours St. Petersburg” (http://www.headytours.org), these guys take you on a heady green tour of this special city, and allow you to get in tune with the higher frequencies of St. Pete, and get you the total run down on how to get connected, and how to meet all the highest members of the local cannabis scene, Heady Tours St. Petersburg is your one and only sure bet to get the green stuff in St. Petersburg, and if you contact them, you will then see the dankest side of Mother Russia.

If you want to practice some Russian, you should ask “vui s’nyet gdye mozhna kupit anasha” this translates roughly to “do you know where I can buy marijuana”. Anasha is the word for grass, but usually this refers to leaf, which is of an exceptionally BAD quality. Better to substitute the word “anasha” with “shishki” which means means “flowers”, or to those who know what you are after, “buds”. Hashish is probably more widely available, and this is referred to as “gashish”…just substitute a “g” for the “h” in hashish. It will be black hash, so check to make sure that you are not being sold a bit of black rubber. If you come across deaf & mute people in public places, who are well known to be involved in the street trade for hash, get eye contact, and give them a signal. The signal that you want to buy hash/buds is to close your hand in a fist, then extending your thumb and little finger outwards away from each other, and touch your mouth with your thumb, this means you want smoke. This is a hand gesture understood by all nationalities in the former soviet union. Though soon enough you will find out that looking for weed on the streets of Russia is not a healthy habit.

Our Latest report says: The best and safest way to buying in any city where cannabis is illegal, is to get to know some locals. People in their late teens to mid twenties tend to know how to hook you up with some good hash. and the best is to find a green tours service like “Heady Tours St. Petersburg” (http://www.headytours.org) which will solve the problem in no time and with zero headaches. Russians are very a very friendly and kind people once you get past the cold veneer and will generally be very hospitable once they realize that youre alright.

Marijuana Prices: Generally prices are high (compared to the cost of living), and availability is low.

Quite expensive…Expect to pay USD100 for 2-3 grams. most Russian dealers love to sell their merchandise in small matchboxes full of low quality trim, not very recommended if you get offered that. A gram of some high quality top shelf nugs can cost up to USD80 (60 euros).

If you’re buying on your own without local help be prepared to pay a lot more. Once people realize you are foreign they tend to try and get more money out from you.

Brands: Most cannabis sold in St. Petersburg is imported from other nearby countries, due to the very active sea port. Weed quality varies between Top shelf Canadian BC bud, and poor low end pot grown by some hungry Russian farmers. Weed here is generally hard to find and if found is usually expensive and poor quality, however you can get lucky.

More information: Never give money to anyone without at least getting their number, calling their phone and see that it actually rings! Be careful and never go with people who seem shady or untrustworthy and never indicate that you have a fair amount of money on you. The ways to smoke here are often very improvised but very effective, they tend to focus on economy of usage while getting very baked. A basic water bottle pipe called a plushka (Russian for cannon) is used frequently. Russians are ingenious and know how to smoke with just about anything. They also have a very nice green tour service called “Heady Tours St. Petersburg” (http://www.headytours.org) and they offer a very cool ride through town service that gets you the best connections and allows you to meet the local stoners of St. Pete, The nice thing about hash is you can easily cook it into butter and get very stoned if you have no smoking devices. Any joints you are offered will almost definitely contain tobacco. In general St Petersburg is a beautiful city with a lot going on and is very interesting and eye pleasing to tour when stoned.

WeBeHigh city tale:

While Moscow is Russia’s political heart and symbolic head, St. Petersburg is considered the nation’s cultural capital. “Moscow has a much more active nightlife as far as the bar scene goes, while St. Pete is a little more Bohemian in nature,” said Mike Scollon, a 30-year-old American writer who lived in St. Petersburg for 2 ½ years.

Spanning a delta of the Neva River, the many waterways have earned St. Petersburg the moniker, “Venice of the North.” But Russians have had trouble settling on an official name. Since it was established in 1703 as St. Petersburg, in honour of St. Peter, the city has undergone three name changes. In 1914 it became Petrograd, and then in 1924 it was renamed Leningrad to honour the father of the Communist Revolution. But when the Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, the Russians felt a surge of nostalgia and restored the city’s original name. Often called the “Northern Capital of Russia,” over 4 million people dwell in this community on the shore of the Baltic Sea. And like in many other Russian cities, “you can get anything you want,” Scollon said.

“The drug choices run from Heroin, Ecstasy and coke to traditional happy stuff like grass put through a shredder; stems, seeds and all,” he said, noting that mushrooms are also very popular with the locals when they are in season.

Scollon explained that Marijuana is “sold in a ‘stakan,’ or glass, which is measured by filling matchboxes and putting them in the glass.” He said pot and Hashish smokers in St. Petersburg commonly use a plastic bottle with a hole cut in the bottom. “They put Hash on the cherry of a cigarette, insert the cigarette into the hole, let the smoke build up, grab the bottle, twist off the top, let go of the carb and inhale more Hash than you ever got in one go,” he said.